A little thread painting

As I mentioned in Tuesday’s post, I was asked to finish a couple of pieces that my friend Diane started before her death.

One of these was a thread-painted piece.

Diane had fused fabrics down to create the scene and then started adding some stitching…..

From looking at it, I would guess that she was using a free-motion zig-zag stitch…..

Both of my current machines are straight stitch only so I was a bit concerned about changing the method that she was using!!

But, once I got started, I enjoyed adding interest to the sweet scene!!

The pine trees were greatly enhanced by the fabrics that she had selected….

I was most concerned about the tree on the left. I just wasn’t sure exactly what she was wanting to show here…..

….maybe a sunset where just the outline of the tree showed?

I started out adding some light grey over the black branches, came back in with a bit darker gray, and finally pulled out a green/grey and started scribbling little circles over the black branches.

This is where it came alive…..

…and I am pleased with the final result!!

I did all of the stitching on my Juki Sit-Down Longarm and realize now that the extra power and speed made this much easier.

But, my favorite thing about this piece is the grass in the front field…..

I used four different threads in a gradation from the top to bottom and then added some highlights using a lighter thread…..

Since the top was backed with a heavy stabilizer (which made stitching easy), I didn’t see a reason to add batting and quilting.

I fused a backing fabric to the back and bound it in the same fabric.

I love the final piece…..

….and, typical of Diane, she pushed me to try something new and find out that I REALLY enjoyed doing it!!